Governor Greg Abbott Seizes Eagle Pass’ Shelby Park as Political Pawn against Federal Government
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2024
Texas Governor Greg Abbott unilaterally seized control, possession, and custody of the City of Eagle Pass, Texas public park designated as Shelby Park, located on the the banks of the Rio Grande River along the United States-Mexico border, on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 as his latest political salvo shot against President Joe Biden and the United States government, challenging the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over immigration laws as previously decided by the United States Supreme Court in an Arizona case.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, Jr. stated in his personal Facebook Page via a live post on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 during the late- evening to inform the citizens of Eagle Pass as a “transparent” measure that he had received a telephone call from Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) South Texas Regional Director, Victor Escalon, “in the morning” notifying him that Governor Abbott had issued an Emergency Declaration “taking full control and custody of Shelby Park” effective that same date based on Governor Abbott’s Emergency Declaration.
Mayor Salinas noted that the City Council, Administration, and Legal Counsel were briefed on the situation which unfolded on January 10th and that City Attorney Ana Sofia Berlin-Garcia was researching the legal remedies available to the City of Eagle Pass.
The following day on Thursday, January 11, 2024, Mayor Salinas held a hastily called press conference at City Hall to update the community on the situation at Shelby Park being seized by the State of Texas through DPS and the Texas Military Department. Salinas stated he was “caught by surprise”by DPS Escalon’s telephone call regarding Governor Abbott’s decision to take full control and custody of the City-owned park. Salinas added he asked Escalon many questions, but received little information.
Mayor Salinas noted that this is not a decision that the City of Eagle Pass agreed to nor requested from the State of Texas. Salinas added that he received a telephone call from DPS Regional Director Victor Escalon advising him of Texas’ decision to take full control and custody of the City-owned public park as part of an Operation Lone Star mission to control the surge of undocumented immigrants entering the United States from Mexico for an indefinite period of time.
Mayor Salinas added that the State of Texas had denied access to Shelby Park and the Rio Grande to the United States Border Patrol on January 11, 2024 from doing their federal immigration responsibilities. Salinas noted that more than likely the United States would sue the State of Texas and the federal courts would decide their legal differences.
Currently, the United States and the State of Texas have several pending lawsuits and appeals in federal court regarding immigration legal issues, including one lawsuit by the U. S. Department of Justice requesting the removal of the controversial floating marine buoys in the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass on appeal En Banc before the U. S. Fifth Circuit, another lawsuit by the State of Texas against the federal government seeking an injunction against U. S. Border Patrol officers from cutting the razor-sharp military-grade concertina wire along the Rio Grande banks at Eagle Pass to allow undocumented migrants from entering the United States, another lawsuit by the U. S. Department of Justice against Texas’ implementation of S. B. 4 authorizing any state law enforcement officer to detain, arrest, and deport any undocumented person, and many other lawsuits between them.
With the federal courts deciding adverse legal rulings against Governor Abbott and the State of Texas in recent weeks, Abbott seeks to create and gain political and public notoriety against the federal government for publicity of his extreme right-wing political and legal theories challenging the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction of immigration law.
At the press conference, Mayor Salinas stated that he is “upset with both parties” and does not favor the Democratic nor Republican parties concerning immigration reform, but simply requests that both parties and all stakeholders come together to approve legislation reforming the American immigration system.
Salinas noted the City of Eagle Pass has several public events scheduled at Shelby Park, including Highway 57 Music Fest during April 5-7, 2024, and these events were brought to Escalon’s attention. Salinas received assurance that the City would be allowed to host these public events as scheduled. The City of Eagle Pass has over $1 million of musical contracts with recording artists for the Highway 57 Music Fest during April 5-7.
On January 3, 2024, U. S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and 64 Republican Congressional Members visited Shelby Park to decry President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, but upon questioning by the press they admitted that they might not vote to approve immigration reform because it might give Biden a political victory for his re-election campaign while eliminating the Republicans favorite campaign issue.
On January 8, 2024, U. S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited Eagle Pass to review the current state of affairs of an unprecedented migrant surge in the southern border of the United States and acknowledged that the American immigration system is broken and needed to be reformed by Congress. Mayorkas noted the American immigration system has been broken for over 30 years and challenged Congress to approve legislation to reform the American immigration system. Mayorkas also commended and congratulated the men and women of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, including Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Border Patrol (USBP) for doing an extraordinary job in protecting the national security of the nation, particularly during the recent migrant surge.
On January 10, 2024, Governor Abbott seized unilateral control and custody of Shelby Park pursuant to an Emergency Declaration issued on May 31, 2021 and amended on December 19, 2023 as part of his political and legal battle with the federal government at a time when the number of undocumented migrants entering through Eagle Pass are at its lowest in recent months.
The citizens of Eagle Pass support immigration reform and all local, county, state, and federal law enforcement officers, but are weary and tired of politicians using their community and children as political pawns and placing them in imminent harms way and endangering their public health and safety.
